Tactile Excel sheets and graphics to boost job prospects for blind people 20 November 2018

Image credit - René Jaun's braille display by visualpun.ch is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Touchscreens and digital graphics are everywhere, but for people who are visually impaired, they can be a major hurdle to using modern technology. But this is set to change, thanks to tactile technology that automatically converts complex digital graphics into braille and stick-on smartphone buttons that make apps navigable by touch. There are 30 million blind or … Read more

Waste CO2 to be turned into ingredients for fuel, plastics and even food

Image Credit - Carbon Recycling International

Scientists are ramping up efforts to turn waste CO2 from industry into chemicals such as methanol in a bid to reduce emissions and provide a new source of raw materials for use in fuel, cement and food production. It’s part of a strategy to halt global warming by cutting down the amount of CO2 we … Read more

Can we produce enough green hydrogen to save the world?

Image credit - Siemens

by Jonathan O’Callaghan Around a fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions are produced by industries such as steel and cement so if we’re going to work towards an emission-free society then this is a good place to start. And one promising technology may have a key role to play. ‘Hydrogen and fuels derived (from it) … Read more

The video games that improve kids’ social skills

Image credit - Pixabay/ StockSnap, licensed under CCO

Video games that are specifically designed to test and improve children’s social and emotional skills could enable parents and teachers to spot issues and help children improve their behaviour and performance at school as well as in later life. Imagine racing through a virtual labyrinth against an alien and losing. Given the chance to rerun … Read more

To reduce food waste, scientists are making labels that track produce as it spoils

This new label mimics the product's decline in freshness by forming a bumpy surface.

A new type of use-by label for milk bottles that decomposes as the liquid inside goes sour could appear on UK supermarket shelves later this year. Labels such as these, capable of telling consumers exactly when fresh produce has gone bad, are being developed by scientists who want to stop food from being prematurely discarded. … Read more

System to rid space station of astronaut exhalations inspires Earth-based CO2 removal

Image credit - NASA/Mark Garcia

When astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) exhale carbon dioxide (CO2), it’s removed from the air and pumped into space. Could an Earth-based version help remove greenhouse gas emissions from our atmosphere? In order to limit global warming to 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels and avoid some of the worse impacts of climate change, it … Read more